Masquerade
by Akiko Keeper of Sheep
Summary: I can't BELIEVE I let you talk me into this." Shadowrunner grinned beneath her sheet. She knew that despite herself, Farshot was curious about this particular human holiday. Farshot was always curious


A/N - Yes, I know it's not Halloween yet. And eventually, I'll get off my aft and write the actual story these one-shots are based on. I promise.

"BOO!"

Farshot scoffed at the rediculous sight before her. A femme who was, without a doubt, her not-much-better half stood in the pristine hallway of the Ark, draped in what looked to be a lot of white fabric sewn together hastily.

"What in the Pit are you doing, Shadow?"

Her sister's optics glowed at they peered at her through two holes cut in the sheet. "The big T said today was a day for scaring people and eating things that are bad for you!"

With an aggrieved sigh, the gunner skirted around her and continued towards the rec room, knowing her sister would follow. "And how exactly does that translate into you running around covered in dust cloths? Or do I not want to know," she added, giving the costumed femme a side-long glance.

Turning her head towards her sister, Shadow gave her a smile. Or, Farshot assumed she did. Shadow didn't do much BUT smile these days.

"It's scary."

At this incredibly illogical answer, Farshot paused. "Um, Shadow? I hate to break it to you, but I don't think anyone is going to be afraid of a walking dirty wash-rag." Except, perhaps, for Sunstreaker, she thought with a mental snicker. She could almost picture him attempting to scale the walls to escape.

The sheet made a motion that Farshot interpreted as her sister waving her hands.

"No, no, I'm a ghost! You know, the spirit of a dead human, come back to haunt the living for eternity."

Taking a moment to imagine this, Farshot blinked a few times, then continued on her journey, deciding that any more questions would be counterproductive.

XDXDXDXDXD

Upon entering the rec room, the sharpshooting femme suddenly wished that she had uploaded a virus, or come over with a bad rust, or something that would give her an excuse to be far away from the area.

"WOW," Shadow squealed, rushing past her stunned twin in a flurry of white cotton, "this place looks great, Big T! You and Spike set this up?"

Titan grinned, waving away Shadow's praise as he fastened a string of interwoven black-and-orange streamers to the ceiling. "Oh, just some of it. It was mostly Spike and Sparkplug. The minis helped a lot, too."

The rec room was an explosion of orange and black. Streamers hung from the ceiling, and tiny little balloons bounced around. A long table was set up with all kinds of things, from energon goodies to what looked like small toys (probably, Farshot mused, courtesy of Wheeljack). Round Earth vegetables were in every window, grotesque faces carved into them. They glowed from within, and Farshot hoped fervently that those weren't courtesy of the mad inventor, as well. All about the room, the minibots were hurrying to set things up, each dressed in some odd costume.

"You like it," Bumblebee's voice piped up behind her. Turning, she stamped down the urge to grin. The yellow mini was wearing a long sword at his side, a patch over one optic, and a three-sided, plumed hat atop his head.

"And what are you supposed to be," she wondered out loud.

Smiling cheerfully, Bumblebee tipped his odd cap to her. "Why, I'm a pirate, of course!"

Nodding as though that made all the sense in the world, she backed up a little, almost stumbling over Cliffjumper, who waved a curvy long-sword at her before moving on. "Right. Pirate. Should have guessed."

Just as she was preparing to make her escape from the weirdness, the rag-pile bounced over to her. "Hey, sis, where're ya going? The fun's about to start!" Maddeningly innocent optics blinked up at her. "Oh, are you going to get into costume, too? That would be wonderful! I know not many people are going to show up in costume (we were keeping the party a surprise), but we have a bunch of spare props and stuff in the weapons closet. Want me to help you pick one out?"

Before she could answer properly, she was suddenly swept away in a swirl of cloth.

XDXDXDXDXD

"I can't BELIEVE I let you talk me into this."

Shadowrunner grinned beneath her sheet. She knew that despite herself, Farshot was curious about this particular human holiday. Farshot was always curious - it was something she'd always hated about herself, and something the twins had always had in common. Shadow could feel her twin's barely-surpressed excitement, and her grin widened.

"Don't know what you're complaining about, you look great."

It was true. There wasn't a lot that Farshot's odd coloration wouldn't clash with, but Shadow had managed to dig up something. A crown of fabric flowers, some ribbon, and a pair of wire-and-gauze wings made for a simple wood sprite costume, and it worked on her woodsy-colored sister.

"I feel stupid," the faerie-for-a-day hissed, tugging at the faux-flower crown.

Sighing (a habit many a 'bot had picked up from Spike), Shadow reached up from beneath her own costume and adjusted the crown. "Stop it, you'll wrinkle the flowers. And stop worrying, he'll love you in this."

Farshot blinked in confusion. "Who will love me in this?"

Flapping one hand airily, Shadow nudged her sister into the rec room. "Oh...no one."

"SHADOW!"

XDXDXDXDXD

"Hey, Sides...why are you wearing horns and a pointy tail?"

Smirking at his brother, Sideswipe continued down the hallway towards the rec room. "It's a human thing. Every year on this day, they dress up in costumes and run from door to door and beg for stuff that will make them sick before the night is out. According to Sparkplug."

Sunstreaker snorted. "Sounds just dumb enough to be a human thing. Why are you doing it?"

"'Cause I wanted to." The red Lambo jerked his fork-looking-thingie at his brother. "There's a party in the rec room, and some of the guys are going in costume. You like mine?"

Crossing his arms, Sunny rolled his optics. "Oh, yeah. I especially love the way it makes me look that much more attractive in comparison."

"Aw, don't be like that, Sunny. This is supposed to he a FUN holiday," Sides proclaimed, hefting the fork-thingie into the air with a vicious stab as he said "fun". "And anyway, Shades helped me with the costume. She said it fits my personality."

"I'm sure."

Glancing at his sullen twin from the corner of his optic, Sideswipe sighed. "I dunno why you give her such a hard time, Sunny. I know you. I know you like her just fine. So why are you always so hard on her?"

"She's ANNOYING," was his only answer.

The statement was punctuated as soon as they entered the rec room by a loud "SUNNY!". A flying white blur smacked right into the yellow twin, and cloth-covered arms latched onto his neck.

"Didja miss me, Sunshine? Huh? Huh?"

"Get off me, you lunatic!"

"Awww, you DID miss me! Oooh, do you like my costume?"

"I SAID get OFF me!"

"Suuuunnyyyyy! You didn't say you liked my coooostuuuuuume!"

Wandering away from the pair, Sides surveyed the room. It looked completely different, and not just because it was full of really weird decorations. Autobots were everywhere, mingling, laughing, and generally having fun. It had been a long time, Sideswipe realized, since any of them had thought about something other than the war for any length of time. Looking at the large form of Titan in one corner, surveying the room with a soft smile, Sides couldn't help but feel grateful.

Not that he'd ever tell him that, of course. But still...

It was a nice...

Woah.

"What are you looking at, aft-head!?"

Blinking a few times, Sides shook his head and grinned. "Hey, Faye. Getting into the holiday spirit, I see."

The femme in question pinned him with a deathly glare. "Shut. Up."

"What? You look good. Really," he insisted when her glare darkened. And it was true, she did look good. A crown of fabric flowers circled her head, ribbons of green and brown trailing down behind her. The same ribbons wrapped up around her thighs and upper arms, and a pair of glittery, sheer wings adorned her back.

"Oh, put your optics back in, you fragger," she snarled, fidgeting with the ribbons. "I know I look horrible, no need to rub it in."

Sideswipe cocked his head. "Are you serious? You think you look bad? I mean, have you SEEN Cliffjumper?"

The two 'bots looked over at the mini, sniggering as the band around his forehead slipped over his eyes again.

"I think he's supposed to be a ninja or something," Sides remarked, still laughing softly. He looked back at Farshot, and was stunned to see a smile on her face. She noticed him looking, and the grin vanished so quickly Sideswipe wasn't even sure he'd seen it. What was more disconcerting was how badly he wished it would appear again.

"You should smile more often, it makes you even prettier."

Wait...what?

From the stunned look Farshot was giving him, he could only assume that he had, indeed, said what he thought he'd said. That was not at all comforting.

"I...I mean...ah...you just...don't, um...smile a lot. And it's...well, really nice. That you did, I mean. Not that you're not pretty when you don't smile, 'cause you are. I mean...no, wait..."

Suddenly, a small hand grasped his own, and a dazed Sideswipe stopped babbling (seriously, was he channeling Bluestreak or something?) long enough to wonder if she was leading him someplace where no one could hear him scream.

He suddenly wished he'd apologized to Ratchet for intentionally ticking him off so many times. And to Prowl for painting "kick me" on his back while he slept. And to Wheeljack for messing with his super-sticking formula. And to Bluestreak for using the formula to stick him to the side of the Ark. And to Red Alert for causing his circuits to fritz so many times. And to Cliffjumper for...well...no, there really wasn't anything he'd ever apologize to that hunk of scrap metal for.

Wait...they'd stopped moving.

Shaking himself back into the present, Sideswipe noted that they were in a deserted corridor somewhere far from the party. He could barely hear the sounds of techno music echoing through the walls.

"Um...why are we here?"

Staring at him for a long moment, Farshot finally dared a small grin. "Because I'm not into PDA."

"Wh-MMMPH!"

Well, this is unexpected, Sideswipe thought, not quite believing that those really were Farshot's lips against his, her body pressed to his own, her hands-

"Whoa! Hands," he yelped, almost jumping out of his armor. "Getting kinda frisky, are we?"

With a wicked smirk that made the red Lamborghini's insides do funny and most likely unhealthy things, the femme took his hand again and started down the corridor. "We get to my room before I change my mind, and you'll find out just how frisky I can be."

Tossing the weird-fork-thingie over his shoulder, Sideswipe grinned devilishly and followed.

END...and Happy Halloween.


End file.
